Sunday, October 30, 2016

Blended

Soup season is coming. Warm, blended goodness. All of these dishes can be blended to the texture you like best. I put my actual blender away a long time ago. I don't do smoothies. To blend I use an immersion or hand blender. Much cleaner, and you really get to control how much is blended. Here is the one I have. I've never used the plastic blending cup or the whisk attachment.

But before the soup round, just wanted to post this because it's SO PRETTY. Blended dishes take a lot of dressing up to look tasty for the camera, but this fiery redness is beautiful with the cilantro topping. I just blended jarred roasted red peppers and peeled zucchini. Salt, pepper, lemon or lime juice and a bit of zest. Keep adding to your liking, but keep it simple. The hard part with spreads anymore, including my favorite hummus and tzatziki, is that you need something to dip. Raw veggies hurt my stomach these days, and too much baguette fills me up too fast. I should slice them even thinner and toast for some crunch. I can digest woven wheat crackers. Multi-grain works. Pure flour crackers seem to turn to undigestible dough. Gross.

Roasted red pepper and zucchini spread

It's not quite mashed potatoes, but I've become an occasional cauliflower fan. Boiled or steamed like broccoli and drained. Then I added plain greek yogurt, a dash of half and half, butter, and salt and pepper. I don't skimp on taste, even though the calories would be lower. I eat so little, it has to taste good. So the BUTTER. I don't use sour cream anymore. Plain greek yogurt tastes very similar, has a similar texture, but has lots of protein. Great choice! I was craving a dash of heat, thus the dash of hot sauce.

Creamed cauliflower

I honestly don't remember how I made this. It's not on my Best Dishes notebook on Evernote, so it might not be my favorite. I just remember being impressed with myself that I toasted coconut! I needed the soup to be creamier. I'm trying this one again.

Coconut, Cauliflower and Carrot Soup

This is my all time favorite the last year or so. So simple and stunning. My great friend Natalia introduced me to this recipe when I stayed with her in Brooklyn one winter. Brown some sweet Italian turkey sausage in a skillet. In a pot brown some chopped onions and garlic in butter. Add a couple peeled diced sweet potatoes. Add chicken or veggie stock to cover. Simmer until potatoes are cooked. Insert the hand blender and blend potatoes to desired consistency. Add sausage and lastly add chopped fresh spinach. Add salt and pepper as desired. Perfection. And only gets better the next days as the flavors really meld.

Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup

I love this soup. I usually just add a can of pumpkin, a can of light coconut milk, and some brown sugar to taste. That's IT. Simple goodness. The side was just a bonus that day.

Pumpkin Thai soup with pork and tofu topped with basil, bean sprouts and Greek yogurt with side of roasted sweet potatoes, red onions and chopped walnuts topped with feta and parsley.

I like the sweet flavor of the corn with the bland but filling potatoes. I want to experiment with this to get some good protein blended in. Perhaps just some bacon. Bacon makes everything better!

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